VIETNAM ERA CHIEF AIR FORCE INTERROGATOR CHALLENGED BUSH VIEW OF TORTURE

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FRANCIS X. STONE, LTR TO BOSTON GLOBE - All of the approaches to
interrogation supported by President Bush as "non-torture" (head
slapping, freezing temperatures, water boarding) qualify as torture
under international law.

During my last year in Vietnam, 1968 to '69, I was in charge of US Air
Force interrogation of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army prisoners.
None of what Bush labels as legal was legal under the Geneva
Conventions, to which the United States is still a signatory. US Army,
Marine, and Army of Republic of Vietnam personnel were constantly amazed
at the interrogation results produced by the Air Force, and we were
never allowed to touch prisoners, let alone head-slap them. Every human
being has needs, and we learned those needs and exploited them. Neither
Bush's bullying approach in the Mideast nor his unlawful interrogation
program has worked. Sophisticated psychological methods are not being
used by the Bush people, so the alleged "non-torture" bullying will
continue.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/
articles/2007/10/12/bushs_unsophisticated_methods/


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